How Many Congressmen Are There in the House of Representatives

/tiles/not-collection/b/baic_intro_first_vote_harper_lc.xml Image courtesy of the Library of Congress An 1867 Harper's Weekly cover commemorates the first vote bandage past African-American men. The passage and ratification of the Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) between 1865 and 1870 catapulted former slaves from chattel to voters and candidates for public office.

In 1870 the inflow on Capitol Hill of the first African-American Senator, Hiram Revels of Mississippi, and the first African-American Representative, Joseph Rainey of S Carolina, ranks amid the keen paradoxes in American history: Just a decade before, southern slave owners held those same seats in Congress. Moreover, the U.Due south. Capitol, where these newest Members of Congress came to work—the heart of legislative government, conceived by its creators as the "Temple of Freedom"—had been constructed past enslaved laborers.¹ This book chronicles the participation of African Americans in the federal legislature and their struggle to attain total civil rights in the nearly 150 years since Revels and Rainey took their seats.

The institution of Congress, and the careers of black Members who accept served in both its chambers, have undergone extensive changes since 1870.² But while researching and writing this book, we encountered several recurring themes that led us to enquire the post-obit questions: What were the legislative priorities of black Members? What were the experiences of African Americans as they integrated the institution? How did they react to the political culture of Capitol Hill, and how did they overcome institutional racism? How did they search for, and ultimately attain, the means to exercise power? Lastly, how did the experiences of these individuals compare to those of other newly enfranchised Americans?

Shared Experiences of Black Americans in Congress

/tiles/not-drove/b/baic_intro_hawkin_augustus_nara_306_PSA_62_7658.xml Epitome courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration As the start African American elected to the Business firm from w of the Mississippi River, Augustus (Gus) Hawkins of California earned the nickname "Silent Warrior" for his persistent work on behalf of minorities and the urban poor.

In striking aspects, the history of blackness Americans in Congress mirrors that of other groups that were new to the political system. Throughout African-American history in Congress, Members viewed themselves every bit "surrogate" representatives for the black community nationwide rather than simply within the borders of their private districts or states.^three African-American Members who won ballot during the 19th century, such every bit Robert Elliott of South Carolina and George White of North Carolina, first embodied these roles and served as models for 20th-century black Members, such every bit Oscar De Priest of Illinois, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. of New York, and Shirley Chisholm of New York.

Surrogate representation was not limited to black Members of Congress. For instance, nearly half a century after black legislators entered Congress, women Members, besides, grappled with the added burdens of surrogate representation. In 1917 women throughout the country looked to the first woman to serve in Congress, Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana, for legislative support. Indeed, Rankin received so many messages she was forced to rent additional assistants to handle the workload. Hispanic-American Members and, afterward, Asian-Pacific American Members likewise had somewhat similar experiences speaking on behalf of a constituency that transcended their districts.^four

As they entered Congress, the experiences of 20th-century African-American pioneers were similar in other respects to those of women, other minority groups, and indeed Members of Congress from all races and backgrounds, particularly on the question of which legislative style each individual chose to pursue. Would they conform to institutional norms to integrate themselves and rise to positions of influence? Or would they direct claiming those norms and entreatment to public stance?⁵ Known and admired by black Americans nationally, Representative De Priest and those who followed him were oftentimes sought out by individuals across the country, many of whom expected unfailing receptiveness to the long-neglected needs of the blackness community. In belatedly 1934, the Atlanta Daily World memorialized De Priest, who lost re-election in his Chicago-centered district to Arthur West. Mitchell, the showtime black Democrat to serve in Congress. De Priest, the editors wrote, lifted his "voice in defense force of those forgotten people he represented" in Chicago and nationally. Lionizing De Priest as a "gallant statesman and fearless defender" of black Americans everywhere, the editors expressed frustration with Mitchell, who explicitly noted during a oral communication to an Atlanta church congregation that he did not intend to represent "blackness interests" per se. Mitchell, the editors noted, "dashed the hopes of every Negro who saturday within hearing of his voice, near of whom looked to him equally their personal representative in the federal government."⁶

/tiles/not-drove/b/baic_intro_powell_presiding_education_committee_LC.xml Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Nether the leadership of Chairman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. of New York, the Committee on Education and Labor approved more than 50 measures authorizing a host of new policies, including educational and chore-preparation programs, school libraries, and increases to the minimum wage. Fellow committee members referred to Powell's leadership as the nearly productive menstruation in the commission's then contempo history.

Collectively, African Americans in Congress overcame barriers by persevering through a century of segregation, disenfranchisement, bigotry, and outright prohibition from Capitol Hill.⁷ After winning the right to participate in the American experiment of cocky-government, African Americans were systematically and ruthlessly excluded from it: From 1901 to 1929, in that location were no black officeholders in the federal legislature.

While seeking to advance within Congress and adapt to its folkways, each generation of blackness Members confronted racial prejudice (both overt and subtle), exclusion, and marginalization. Moreover, because in that location were and then few African-American legislators at any in one case, they were unable to form a potent voting bloc in order to influence legislation. Black Members of Congress too contended with increased expectations from the public and heightened scrutiny by the media. They cultivated legislative strategies that were mutual on Capitol Colina but took on an added dimension in their mission to confront institutional racism and represent the interests of the larger black customs. Some 20th-century Members, such as Representatives Chisholm and Powell, became symbols for African-American ceremonious rights by circumventing prescribed congressional channels and appealing straight to the public and media. Others pursued an institutionalist strategy: Adhering to the prevailing traditions and workways of the Business firm and Senate, they hoped to shape policies by attaining positions of influence on the within.^viii Representative William Levi Dawson of Illinois, Powell's contemporary, and others like him, such as Augustus (Gus) Hawkins of California and William H. (Beak) Gray 3 of Pennsylvania, favored the methodical, legislative style, diligently immersing themselves in committee work and policy minutiae.^ix

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Source: https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Historical-Essays/Introduction/Introduction/

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